Yes, Frank, you were there but your memories are restricted by your allegiences. In the northern Urban centers (I was in Philly. You were in Chicago), the political left, influenced as they were by Sandburg and Seeger, was the primary supporter of professional folk singers. Labor unions used singers to inspire and promote solidarity.I sang for the Hospital Workers, ASCME, the striking teachers at Temple and the editorial workers at Knight-Ridder. On the other hand, in 1964, I was hired to sing by the Democrats, the Republicans (I sang "This Land is Your Land" for both jobs) and the Socialist Labor Party. (They held a spaghetti dinner fundraiser and I was the apres pasta entertainment. I did a lot of union songs.) But in the rest of the country, where those folk songs we love come from, most of the folk singers were more representative of the politics of their regions; rock ribbed, rightious and (alas) reactionary. Those of us on the left, were careful to avoid talking about the political leanings of our "informants". We preferred to believe that we were the true folk and that our message was the message of the masses. Well, we were young then and were aflicted with the arrogance and intolerance of our age. Most of us have learned, over the years, that right and wrong are just sides of an elephant to blind men. Even Kenny Goldstein outgrew his cyncism enough to wear a yamuka and tallis when
his sons were Bar Mitzva.